WO2019145624A1

WO2019145624A1 - Low-temperature "sous vide" cooking method

Info

Publication number: WO2019145624A1
Application number: PCT/FR2019/050109
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christophe LE CONTE CHRESTIEN DE POLY
Original assignee: Le Conte Chrestien De Poly Christophe
Priority date: 2018-01-24
Filing date: 2019-01-18
Publication date: 2019-08-01
Also published as: FR3076983A1; FR3076983B1

Abstract

The present invention concerns a low-temperature sous vide method for cooking a food, consisting of immersing, in a vessel containing water at ambient temperature, a sous vide pouch containing the food to be cooked and an indicator containing N thermochromic zones, the state En of which changes at different temperatures T_i, the values T_i being between a minimum temperature corresponding to the ambient temperature and a maximum temperature corresponding to a temperature exceeding the nominal cooking temperature, N being between 2 and 6. The method comprises a step of calculating a cooking parameter and signalling at least one action to be engaged in order to conduct the cooking, and at least one step comprising: - displaying, on a display of a control device, a series of indicator representations corresponding to different combinations of states, - recording a piece of digital information corresponding to the selection of one of said displayed representations - recalculating at least one cooking parameter, depending on said piece of digital information - displaying on said control device the information relating to the new cooking parameters.

Description

"VACUUM" LOW-TEMPERATURE COOKING PROCESS

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a low-temperature cooking process of a food placed in a vacuum bag. This method of cooking has been used by restaurant chefs for a few years now and comes to domestic kitchens.

According to this method of cooking, the food is put in a vacuum bag using a vacuum packaging machine and cooked in a water bath which can be adjusted to the degree to much lower temperatures ( generally around 55 ° C to 65 ° C for meat and fish, 85 ° C for harder vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, ...) than those usually used for cooking.

Unlike conventional cooking, where the risks of overcooking are common, this method of cooking allows easy and extremely precise control, the temperature remaining very stable and at its optimum level, unlike a domestic oven where the difference between the temperature of the oven (180 ° C for example) and the optimum cooking temperature of the food is important and frequently generates overcooking. The optimal temperature is a precise temperature point defined for each food: when this degree of temperature is reached and maintained, the food is at its ideal cooking temperature and this allows it to keep all its nutritional qualities, texture and flavor. . With this low temperature cooking mode the food cooks evenly and evenly.

Hermetically sealed in a vacuum bag, the food is cooked in its own juice, free from evaporation. either aromas or liquids which avoids any drying out and allows to have very soft textures.

The sensitivity of the cooking level with respect to the temperature of the bath is relatively high, a difference of 2 ° C of the temperature of the bath can vary the cooking of a level and, for example, transform a cooking "point" in " well cooked ". Cooking at the right temperature therefore imposes the maintenance of a precise temperature in the cooking bath and, in the current state of the art, this function is provided by a circulator.

The circulator known in the prior art is an equipment dedicated to the maintenance of a bath at a constant temperature and comprises the following elements: a heat source (resistance), an element for regulating the heat input, most often PID type (integral proportional derivative) and a water circulation mechanism to ensure temperature homogeneity despite the discrete point of heating the bath.

State of the art

For example, patent application WO 2013067825 describes a low-temperature vacuum cooker comprising a body provided with a container and a heating and circulation system. The container includes a bowl of water and a lid. The heating and circulation system includes a heating element, a water pump and connecting pipes. In the low temperature vacuum cooker, the water temperature throughout the container is uniform; the heating and circulation system for heating the circulating water allows the water, flowing rapidly through the heating element, to absorb more than 95% of the thermal energy of the heating element, which saves energy. US Pat. No. US92 / 15948 is also known relating to a cooking appliance constituted by a housing with a heating element arranged inside the first section; a circulator arranged inside the housing and configured to circulate fluid in the cooking vessel along the heating element; a control unit configured to control the heating element and the circulator according to a temperature of the fluid measured by the temperature sensor, thereby maintaining the fluid within a predetermined range of temperatures including the selected temperature.

Patent application EP2879555 is also known describing a method and a device under vacuum for cooking food. The device comprises: a reservoir for holding water; a user interface having one or more user input elements and a display element, a heating element for heating water in the tank, a temperature sensing element for providing a temperature signal indicating the temperature of the water in the tank; the reservoir, and a processor module, the processor module being connected to the user interface for receiving user inputs, the processor module being connected to the temperature sensor element to receive the temperature signal, the processor module enabling the control of the heating element to regulate the temperature of the water in the tank

Patent Application EP3160865A1 describes a method of cooking a food product, under low temperature vacuum, comprising disposing a food product under vacuum in a closed device and heating the product disposed in said closed device by dipping it. in a bath to reach a target temperature of between 45 ° C and 65 ° C characterized in that said device comprises at least one thermochromic indicator configured to change color and / or appearance to said target temperature, and in that one proceeds to a progressive increase in temperature of said bath from an initial temperature of at least 20 ° C below said target temperature. The thermochromic indicator may include an indicator, such as a cooking and / or regulating indicator, comprising a material having the ability to change color and / or appearance as a function of temperature. The thermochromic indicator is configured to change color and / or appearance when at least one preset temperature is reached.

Also known is the patent application WO2013130798 relating to a variation of a cooking appliance which comprises: a housing comprising a first section configured to be immersed in a fluid, inside a cooking vessel, and a second adjacent section the first section; an annular button arranged on the second section; a position sensor arranged within the second section and configured to detect rotation of the magnetic member; a display device arranged on the housing and configured to display a selected cooking parameter by rotating the annular knob; a heating element arranged inside the first section; a circulator arranged inside the housing and configured to circulate fluid in the cooking vessel along the heating element; a control unit configured to control the heating element and the circulator according to a temperature of the fluid measured by the temperature sensor, thereby maintaining the fluid within a predetermined range of temperatures including the selected temperature.

Disadvantages of prior art

The solutions of the prior art have various disadvantages Solutions using an immersion heater or a temperature sensor of the liquid bath water do not allow to take into account the temperature of the food, directly and accurately. There may be several degrees of difference between the temperature of the water bath at the point of measurement, and the food vacuum packaged.

Solutions are known that provide for a thermal probe inserted into the food. In this case, the transmission of information poses a problem of maintaining the tightness of the vacuum bag containing the food.

Moreover, many solutions require the use of complex equipment incorporating the heating means and a precise control system of the heating temperature.

Solution provided by the invention

To meet these drawbacks, the invention relates, in its most general sense, to a process for low-temperature cooking under vacuum of a food consisting of immersing in a container containing water at room temperature a vacuum bag containing

Said food to be cooked,

And an indicator containing N thermochromic zones whose state E _n changes at different temperatures T _± , the values T _± being between a minimum temperature corresponding to the ambient temperature and a maximum temperature corresponding to a temperature equal to or greater than at the nominal cooking temperature for a given cooking level, N being between 2 and 6, the method comprising at least one step of calculating a cooking parameter and signaling of at least one action to be taken to conduct the cooking,

characterized in that it comprises at least one step consisting of:

to display on a display of a piloting equipment a series of representations of indicators corresponding to different combinations of states,

to record digital information corresponding to the selection of one of said visualizations and,

to recalculate at least one cooking parameter according to said digital information,

to display on the said piloting equipment the information relating to the new cooking parameters.

According to a particular embodiment, the method comprises an initial step of executing a computer program controlling the display:

- on an initial screen operations to implement to achieve cooking (volume of water to put in a pot and power of the heating device) and an estimated cooking time in application of an evolution model adapted to the type food to be cooked, and at least one intermediate time; and

on at least one intermediate screen a plurality of graphical representations of an indicator, each of said graphical representations corresponding to a combination of states E _n and also a selection zone of the graphical representation closest to the effective state of the indicator contained in said pocket, and to recalculate the estimated time and / or the power of the heat source according to the information thus selected. Advantageously, the process for low-temperature cooking of a food under vacuum consists of executing a computer program controlling the display:

on at least one intermediate screen a plurality of graphical representations of an indicator, each of said graphical representations corresponding to a combination of states E _n and also a selection zone of the graphical representation closest to the effective state of the indicator contained in said pocket, and to recalculate the estimated time according to the information thus selected.

According to variants, the method comprises:

- an initial stage of selection of the type of food to be cooked, the quantity and / or

an initial parameterization step by recording the parameters of the hob and / or

an initial parameterization step by recording the environmental parameters corresponding to a geolocation data and / or

a step of recording the historical parameters and / or

- A setting step by reading a label associated with the food to be cooked.

Detailed description of a non-limiting example of

production The invention will be better understood on reading the detailed description of a nonlimiting exemplary embodiment which follows, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

- Figure 1 shows a schematic view of the preparation of the cooking

FIG. 2 represents the functional diagram of the invention.

Initially, the product to be cooked (1), for example a salmon pad, is packaged in a sealed bag (2) under vacuum. On or in this bag is placed a label (3) on the one hand a matrix code (4) and on the other hand thermochromic indicators (5 to 8).

The thermochromic ink indicators are in the form of small colored pellets that have an area that will change color if the temperature exceeds a threshold value. These indicators use thermochromic inks that have the distinction of having a variable color. This varies reversibly or irreversibly depending on the temperature.

These inks contain leucoderivatives, whose complete change of color requires a variation of temperature of a few degrees. This change of color is observed at a given temperature, it is the activation temperature. During the heating of the ink, the monomers recombine with each other and thus polymerize. The color is given by the number of carbon / carbon conjugated double bonds contained in a molecule, the polymerization thus causes the change of the coloration of the ink.

In order to avoid the interaction of the leucocolorants with the other compounds of the ink, they are encapsulated in microcapsules. These microcapsules (3-5mih) are wider than pigments, up to ten times.

Generally thermochromic inks change color from a given color they become transparent. Changes from one color to another are also possible thanks to the combination of leucocolorant with another permanent ink. In the example described, the label (3) bears four zones (5 to 8) comprising thermochromic inks that react at increasing temperatures, for example at 40 ° C., 50 ° C., 54 ° C. and 62 ° C.

The matrix code (4) is used to record information on the nature of the product, the optimal cooking cycle, etc.

This matrix code (4) can be exploited by complementary equipment having an optical sensor and a matrix code processing application, for example a cellular telephone (9).

The first step is to enter on the equipment (9) the cooking parameters (13) such as the nature of the proteins, the nature of the proteins, the weight, etc.

These data can be entered manually (11) or acquired by reading (12) a matrix code (4).

The equipment (9) then executes a local or remote application calculating (14) the time and the optimal cooking profile, and in particular the parameters of time, temperature rise rate and the optimum temperature and the moment of one or several checkpoints.

Optionally, the method comprises a step of setting the cooking context, which is initialized during the first use and optionally updated periodically.

This step involves entering (15) the parameters of the cooking equipment (gas, induction, halogen, electric, power, make and model). These data are used by the application to adjust the calculation (14) of the determination of the cooking profile. Optionally, the parameterization step provides the connection to a server for access to technical data corresponding to the model of the hob, and the calculation on the server of the parameters which are then transmitted to the terminal (9).

Optionally, the terminal (9) also records environmental data (16) via the geolocation, for example the nominal temperature of the running water.

Another optional step (17) concerns the recording of historical data corresponding to the use of the application for past cooking. These data are then used to adjust the calculation parameters.

The data resulting from the steps of determining the firing profile (14) corresponding to a new product to be fired, optionally adjusted by the data specific to the hob (15), the environmental parameters (16) and the historical data (17) for calculating the initial heating power (19), in degree or graduation of the setting of the plate. The mode of representation of the heating power can be determined according to the parameters resulting from the parameterization step (15), so as to make it easier to relate the representation of the heating power appearing on the screen. display of the terminal (9), and the indications appearing on the hob.

This step also consists in calculating one or more points (21) of control, to verify the conformity of the cooking with the calculated optimal profile. This step (21) is to signal the user, for example by a buzzer, the due date of the control, and display on the screen of the terminal (9) the expected graphical representation. The user compares (22) the displayed representation with that shown on the label (3). If both are the same, it allows cooking to continue unchanged.

If it differs, it captures the information, for example by selecting among the representations visualized on the screen of the terminal (9) which corresponds to the state of the label (3). The terminal then calculates a new heating power which is represented on the screen and / or a new cooking time, to allow the user to adapt (25) the setting of the hob, and then recalculate the profile. baking according to the drift relative to the initial profile to fix (24) one or more subsequent control points.

This step can also be automated by reading the state of the label (3) of the product being cooked and automatically comparing the acquired image with the calculated state.

The calculator further determines (26) whether the new calculated power is compatible with the cooking profile, and in particular whether it does not lead to overheating of the product.

Claims

claims

1 - Process for low-temperature cooking under vacuum of a food consisting of immersing in a container (10) containing water at room temperature a vacuum bag containing

Said food to be cooked,

And an indicator positioned in or on the vacuum bag containing N thermochromic zones whose state E _n changes at different temperatures T _± , the values T _± being between a minimum temperature corresponding to the ambient temperature and a temperature of maximum temperature corresponding to a temperature exceeding the nominal cooking temperature, N being between 2 and 6,

the method comprising at least one step of calculating a cooking parameter and signaling of at least one action to be taken to conduct the cooking,

characterized in that it comprises at least one step consisting of:

to record digital information corresponding to the selection of one of said representations visualized and

to recalculate at least one cooking parameter according to said digital information

to display on the said piloting equipment the information relating to the new cooking parameters 2 - Process for low-temperature cooking under vacuum of a food consisting of executing a computer program controlling the display:

on an initial screen, an estimated cooking time according to an evolution model adapted to the type of food to be cooked, and at least one intermediate time; and

3 - Low-temperature cooking process under vacuum of a food according to claim 1 characterized in that it comprises an initial step of setting (15) by recording the parameters of the cooking plate.

4 - Low-temperature vacuum cooking process of a food according to claim 1 characterized in that it comprises an initial step of setting (16) by recording the environmental parameters corresponding to a geolocation data.

5 - Low-temperature cooking process under vacuum of a food according to claim 1 characterized in that it comprises a step (17) for recording the historical parameters.

6 - Low-temperature cooking process under vacuum of a food according to claim 1 characterized in that comprises a setting step (12) by reading a label (3) associated with the food to be cooked.

7 - Low-temperature cooking process under vacuum of a food according to claim 1 characterized in that it comprises a reading of the state of the label (3) by optical reading.